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Environmental Law Initiative - Latest News [Page 1]
High Court Declares Orange Roughy Catch Decision Unlawful In Win For Environmental Law Initiative
Friday, 3 July 2026, 8:38 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The case concerned ORH 3B, New Zealand’s largest orange roughy quota management area, which covers over half of New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. More >>
Mike Smith's Judicial Review Of Minister's Decision Welcome
Monday, 29 June 2026, 7:20 am | Environmental Law Initiative
It is important for the Court to scrutinise whether this decision was lawful, says the Environmental Law Initiative's Director, Research and Legal, Dr Matt Hall. More >>
High Court Hearing Highlights The 'Shrinking Pool' For Fisheries Research And Science
Thursday, 18 June 2026, 4:42 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
In the hearing, Seafood industry representatives argued that research into the impact of fishing on protected species should only be cost recoverable if it is a population level threat to the species. More >>
ELI Challenges Fisheries Observer Cuts And Industry Levy Cuts In The High Court
Monday, 15 June 2026, 7:27 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The Department of Conservation expressly warned that cameras would not meet conservation monitoring needs and recommended maintaining observer coverage as a precaution. More >>
New Mapping Shows Wetland Loss Continues, With Conversion To Pasture The Leading Cause
Monday, 25 May 2026, 12:05 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“What this update shows is that wetland conversion has continued. The rules have become stronger, but there still appears to be a monitoring and enforcement gap,” said Sintenie. More >>
Fonterra & Z Energy Lobbying Concealed By Prime Minister's Office
Sunday, 24 May 2026, 6:28 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
On behalf of Mike Smith and the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI): Since the announcement by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith that the Climate Change Response Act will be amended to prevent tort-based climate litigation, new information about lobbying by Fonterra ... More >>
Minister Urged To Intervene Over 146 Marine Mammal Sanctuary Deaths In Just Two Years
Friday, 24 April 2026, 7:37 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The figures show that 79 marine mammals were killed inside marine mammal sanctuaries during the 2023/24 fishing year, following earlier data revealing 67 deaths in the 2024/25 fishing year. More >>
Minister Was Required To Do Better Than ‘A Coin Toss’ On Climate
Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 5:41 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI’s Senior Legal Researcher Eliza Oldfield Prestidge says: “New Zealand’s climate law demands stable policy making and plans that will actually meet our carbon budgets. More >>
Minister’s ‘Fudged’ Climate Policy Faces Major High Court Challenge
Monday, 16 March 2026, 8:57 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI and Lawyers for Climate Action say the Minister’s decisions benefit major polluters, at a time when New Zealand’s percapita emissions remain among the highest in the world. More >>
Hoiho Judgment: Minister Must Take Whatever Steps Necessary To Ensure Hoiho Survival
Wednesday, 4 February 2026, 12:46 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“Although we were not successful on the specific grounds of our judicial review, we are pleased by the very strong statements made by the judge,” says ELI’s Director, Research and Legal, Dr Matt Hall. More >>
High Court Confirms ECan’s Nitrate Pollution Rule Was Made In Error
Tuesday, 23 December 2025, 4:53 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The High Court has found that Environment Canterbury (ECan) made an error of law when it allowed nitrate discharges from farming as a region-wide permitted activity in its regional plan. In a judgment dated 22 December, Justice Mander found that ... More >>
Large Crayfish Closure Welcomed, Will Require Long-Term Monitoring And Action To Succeed
Friday, 19 December 2025, 12:37 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“These closures reinforce exactly what we’ve been saying in court: when stocks are so depleted that ecosystems begin to fail, the Minister is legally required to act,” Blattner de-Vries says. More >>
As Hoiho Court Case Wraps Up, ELI Says Long-Term Proposal For Hoiho Needs Rewrite
Wednesday, 3 December 2025, 8:32 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The current emergency closure does not do anything for hoiho on Rakiura or in the Catlins, and we learned the cost of that on Saturday when a hoiho was drowned in a set net. More >>
ELI Challenges Emergency Measures For Hoiho In Urgent High Court Hearing
Monday, 1 December 2025, 11:43 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI contends that in making the emergency closure decision, the Minister failed to consider the economic value of hoiho to tourism operators and local communities. More >>
Environmental Law Initiative Takes Glyphosate Case To Court Of Appeal
Monday, 17 November 2025, 8:23 am | Environmental Law Initiative
The Court did not engage with the question of when significant new information should be assessed for glyphosate, where the EPA acknowledged there is no record of any prior risk assessment in Aotearoa. More >>
High Court Challenge Launched Over Emergency Setnet Ban For Failing To Protect Hoiho
Thursday, 16 October 2025, 6:31 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI argues that the Minister neglected to consider the economic impact of hoiho deaths on the region’s eco-tourism operators. More >>
Emergency Closure For Hoiho Welcome But Falls Short
Monday, 15 September 2025, 12:44 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
The hoiho population has collapsed by 80% since 2008, from 739 breeding pairs to just 143. ELI was made aware of a further 3 hoiho deaths due to fishing in the second quarter of 2025. More >>
Government Moves To Strip Protections For Water Quality
Tuesday, 12 August 2025, 6:55 pm | Environmental Law Initiative
“The Government has introduced an amendment that will lock in pollution in some of our dirtiest rivers and open the door to new degradation elsewhere. More >>
Government Faces Legal Challenge For Under-Resourcing Of Fisheries Conservation And Research
Tuesday, 5 August 2025, 9:13 am | Environmental Law Initiative
ELI’s director, research and legal Dr Matt Hall says, “The setting of levies should be determined by what services, including scientific research and observer coverage, are required to meet the purposes of the Fisheries Act. More >>
EPA Faces High Court Challenge Over Glyphosate
Monday, 16 June 2025, 8:21 am | Environmental Law Initiative
Over recent decades, scientific evidence of glyphosate’s harm to human health, biodiversity, and ecosystems has grown. Many regulators overseas have responded by tightening restrictions on glyphosate use. In contrast, the regulatory approach in More >>
